Improved railway-rail joint



FRITZ & SAYRE.

Railway. Rail Joint.

Patented June 22, 1869.

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JOHN FRITZ AND ROBERT H. SAYRE, OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYL- VANIA.

Letters PatentNo. 91,736, dated June 22, 1869.

IROVED RAILWAY-RAIL JOINT.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and'making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, J onn FRITZ and ROBERTH. SAYRE, both of Bethlehem, county oil-Northampton, State ofPennsylvania, have invented an Improved Rail-Joint; and we do 'herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame.

Our invention consists-- First, in forming one of the splicing-bars inthe manner described hereafter, so as toinipart vertical rigid ,ity andlateral strength to the same, .and afiord a fiat bearing-surface for thenuts.

Second, in so waving one or .both of the splicingbars, at the pointswhere the bolts for securing the same occur, that they will confine therailswith a constant grip. n v

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and apply ourinvention, we will now proceed to describe its construction andoperation, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which formsa part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is aside view ofour improved rail-joint;

Figure 2, a transverse section on the line 1-2, fig. 1 and Figure 3, aplan view, partly in section.

A and A are the adjacent ends of two rails, which have the usual.treadweb b, and lower flanges d and d.

, The joint consists of two splicing-bars Band B, of

the peculiar form, and fitted one to each side of the rails, in thepeculiar manner illiistrated in fig. 2.

Four bolts, e, pass through the splicing-bars, and two of these throughthesweb of one rail, and two through that of the adjacent rail. I

It will be observed that the bar B is recessed on the inside; that itsupper end fits snugly tothe rail at f, where the tread meets the web ofthe rail, and that the inclined lower surface of'thc bar bears againstthe inclined 'upper surface of the flange d of the rail, and extends toa point'outside of the edge of the tread, or head of the rail.

By this arrangement, the web h, of the splicing-bar B, is at a greaterdistance from the web of the rail than ordinary splices, an advantagewhich will be apparent on noting the line a:, fig. 2, which designatesthe direction of the resistance presented, by the bar B, to the strainsto which the rail is subjected by passing trains, the bar, in fact,being a diagonal brace for the rail. Moreover, the. greater the distanceof the web of the bar from that of the rails, the greater will be thelateral rigidity imparted to them by the bar.

At the lower edge ofthe bar B is a projection, n, the lower edge ofwhich is on a level with the under surface of the rail, and, with thelatter, rests on the sleepers, to which it is confined by the usualspikes.

appropriate lengths.

We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by The rails have thus abroader bearing-surface where the joint occurs than elsewhere, and thelateral rockifig of the rails is resisted by this broad bearing, at apoint where lateral steadiness is of the greatest importance.

At the same time, this downward extension of the splicing-bars impartsadditional vertical and lateral rigidity to them. The above remarks willapply, with equal force, to the splicing-bar B, which possesses thefeatures described, although differing in form from the bar B, adifi'erence demanded, in some respects, by the necessity of making thebar fiat on the outside, at y, for the nuts to bear against. V

The upper edge of the splicing-bar B, which is fitted to the inside'ofthe-rail, must, of necessity, terminate at such a point as not tointerfere with the flanges of the car-wheels; but the bar B, on theoutside of the rails,i's-carried upwards, at m, so that additionalvertical rigidity may be imparted to the bar.

It will be seen, without further description, that our improvementpossesses the advantages of imparting both lateral and vertical rigidityto the rails, at the joint, and insuring a broad and steady bearing onthe sleepers. v

On reference to fig. 3, it will be observed that the splicing-bar B isslightly waved where the bolts occur, or, in other words, the bar is notin absolute contact with the rails at this point. Hence, on tighteningthe nuts of the bolts, the bar will yield to a very limited extent, itis true, but sufiicient elasticity is imparted to the bar, by thiswaving of the same, to insure a continued pressure, tending to force thetwo bars toward each other, and grip the rails with a force constantlyexerted.

It will be understood that the splicing-bars are made of wrought-iron,rolled to the desired shape, and cut to Letters Patent- 1. Thesplicing-bar B',-having a flat surface, 3 and projecting rib m, for thepurpose described.

2. The within-describedwaves, made in one or both of the splicing-barsof a rail-joint, where the bolts occur, as and for the purpose setforth. I

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN FRITZ. ROB. H. SAYBE.

Witnesses: I

H. STANLEY Goonwm, I

H. S. KITOHEL.

